Chiropractic care can help with knee pain

1 Feb 2015 Pain, Your Overall Health

Knee pain is very common among our population. It can occur from injury or medical conditions such as gout, arthritis and infection.

What are the common Knee injuries causes?

  1. Ignoring minor knee pain – tight muscles and inactivated (non-working)muscles can leave a knee open for injury and more serious injury.
  2. Excess weight – there is a body perfect weight for each person. Gaining just 20-30 lbs can cause increased knee pain.
  3. Not resting after a knee strain or injury. If the knee doesn’t have time to heal, it makes the body more vulnerable to injury.
  4. Lack of flexibility in muscles can lead to a strain or injury.

What are the Medical Conditions that cause knee pain?

  1. Gout
  2. Arthritis Degenerative and inflammatory issues
  3. Infection
  4. Chronic Muscle injury

What are the components that make up the knee?

  1. 2 meniscus
  2. Anterior Cruciate Ligament and Posterior Cruciate Ligament
  3. Median Cruciate Ligament and Lateral Cruciate Ligament
  4. Femur, Fibular head and Tibial Head
  5. Quadriceps muscle, Hamstring, Groin Muscles, Anterior Shin muscles and Calf muscles
  6. Iliotibial Band (IT Band)
  7. Associated nerves and arteries

What are the symptoms of knee pain?

This may sound like a redundant question but when you think about the issues that make up pain, it is usually more than just pain itself. Look for the following symptoms to identify issues in your knee:

  1. Swelling
  2. Tight muscles
  3. Decreased range of motion
  4. Redness
  5. Palpable increase in temperature when feeling the knee
  6. Clicking or popping sounds that are accompanied with discomfort or pain
  7. Weakness or feeling like the knee will collapse

What are the red flags in knee pain or discomfort that alert you to go seek medical care?

  1. Swelling or increased temperature felt on the knee
  2. Weakness
  3. Inability to extend the knee
  4. Cannot bear weight on the Knee
  5. Deformity in the knee
  6. Muscle tension and Pain lasting greater than 10 days
  7. Knee pain following a fall or trauma

What are the Treatments for knee pain?

  1. Surgery if a meniscus, ligament or muscle is torn
  2. Physical Medicine: chiropractic treatment or physical therapy
  3. Massage for a muscle tension and help with injury recovery

In our office, we use manual adjustments and the Graston Technique to treat the ligaments and tendons, which is a good solution when surgery isn’t the best option.

The treatment duration takes several days to weeks with some rest and exercise strongly recommended.

Useful Exercise During Pregnancy

22 Jan 2015 Women & Pregnancy, Your Overall Health ,

Exercise does a lot to keep you healthy and some of those benefits are also true for pregnant women.

Exercise will:

  • reduce blood pressure
  • decrease cardiovascular risks like the formation of clots
  • help to maintain an ideal body weight
  • help to manage stable diabetes

Additional benefits specific to pregnant women include:

  • Improving the labor process and delivery. “Pregnant women who exercise have shorter labor times, and faster, easier deliveries.”
  • Exercise can also improve self-esteem and high self-esteem has been associated with a decrease in complaints of back aches, headaches, and fatigue.
  • Exercising women will also be more conditioned for difficult breathing.

Exercise continued after delivery will help to decrease varicose veins, leg cramps, and swelling in the limbs.

A fundamental function of exercise is promoting blood flow to deliver nutrients to where they are needed and eliminating stored toxins. The metabolism of calcium will also be improved. It will ultimately lead to healthier organs, stronger connective tissue, and denser bones.

There are a lot of changes that occur to the women’s physiology in pregnancy and this warrants safety considerations for the mother and the baby. Overstepping the limitations in pregnancy can divert blood flow away from the growing baby to provide more to the mother’s exercising muscles. This could deprive the baby of oxygen and stunt his/her growth and put the baby in distress. Exercising conservatively can appease the additional risks of membrane rupture, placental separation, premature labor, direct fetal injury, or umbilical cord entanglement. With due caution and consideration, effects on the fetus by maternal exercise does not contraindicate exercise.

These are the 7 safety guidelines:

  1. Heart rate needs to be less than 140 beats per minute
  2. Exercise intensity should be low. You should be able to speak during the exercise without your breath becoming rapid.
  3. Do not perform strenuous exercise for more than 15 minutes
  4. Starting at 5 months pregnant, avoid exercising on your back
  5. Avoid exercises in which you hold your breath and strain
  6. Be sure that you are eating enough to meet the needs of the pregnancy and of the exercise.
  7. Core temperature should not exceed 38 degrees Celsius/100.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not overheat yourself.

You should stop the exercise immediately if you experience any of the following:

  • back pain
  • feeling disoriented
  • extreme nausea
  • marked swelling
  • pubic pain
  • sharp pain in the abdomen or chest
  • feeling extremely hot, cold, or clammy
  • uterine contractions
  • any vaginal bleeding or gush or fluid from the vagina
  • decrease in fetal movement
  • blurry vision
  • dizziness
  • fainting
  • difficulty in walking
  • shortness of breath
  • pain or palpitations

If you have high blood pressure or heart disease, have had more than three miscarriages, or are pregnant with more than one baby, you should not exercise at all during pregnancy. If you have any pre-existing health conditions, you should consult your doctor about exercise first.

Exercise recommendations for pregnancy:

  • Jogging. This is recommended if the mother jogged regularly before pregnancy.
  • Walking. A safe option because it does not involve jerky movements while still helping to condition the cardiovascular system. A good brisk walk for half an hour three times a week will ensure that you are getting the benefits of exercise. Your cardiovascular system will be strengthened when worked for at least fifteen minutes.
  • Cycling. This can be started during pregnancy because it is not a weight-bearing activity. A stationary bike is safer.
  • Aerobics. Avoid exercises that require you to be on your back, include jerky or bouncy movements, and deep flexion and extension after the 4th month of pregnancy. Low impact aerobics is tolerated well in the third trimester. Ballroom dancing or aerobic dance are great aerobic exercises.
  • Swimming. A great option. Avoid excessively cold or hot water though. Water aerobics is another option rather than swimming laps.
  • Weight lifting. Light weights can be used to maintain strength as long as you are breathing properly. No holding your breath and straining. Perform with caution. If unaccustomed to this exercise, begin with just resistance against gravity first.
 Racquetball, squash and tennis are fairly safe. Adjust the intensity of play as the pregnancy progresses.
  • Scuba diving. For experienced divers only. Do not exceed 1 ATM in pressure and limit the time to 30 minutes or less.
  • Yoga. Great for relaxation. Also helps to maintain muscle tone and flexibility. Best when accompanied by some form of aerobic exercise. Do not try to do the same amount as before you were pregnant.

A variety of exercise will prevent imbalance by overworking the same muscle groups and will ensure that all muscles get a turn.

Remember: Your cardiovascular system will be strengthened if worked at least three times a week for a minimum of fifteen minutes.

Exercises to Avoid:

  • All contact sports
  • Gymnastics
  • Horseback riding
  • Water skiing
  • Ice skating

Any exercise program should begin with a five-minute warm-up and aerobic programs should end with a five-minute cool-down exercise. The cool-down should include light stretching and relaxation exercises. This will help to prevent muscle stiffness after exercise and will help in bringing the heart rate and body temperature back to normal. All exercises should be performed on both sides.

Here are some exercises that are performed in the standing position that can be used to warm up or cool down:

  • Shoulder rolling. To loosen the neck and shoulder muscles, bring your shoulders up to your ears, back and down again. Perform six times.
  • Arm swinging. To release shoulder stiffness, increase circulation, and stretch your upper back, swing your arms from side to side by turning your upper body.
  • Knee raising. To loosen the knees and pelvic joints and gently massage your internal organs, bring each knee in turn up toward your chest and hold for two seconds.

Exercises for the neck and upper back:

  • Sit comfortably with your legs crossed. Slowly bring your head to the end of every position and hold for ten seconds at each position. That is, down to your chest, then back to look up at the ceiling, look over each shoulder and finally drop your head down to each shoulder. Repeat three times. This will relieve tension in the neck and upper back.
  • Cat stretch. Come to your hands and knees and keep a straight back. Round your back and look toward your knees. Then relax to a flat back and look toward the ceiling. Repeat five times.
  • Dog stretch. Keep your hands and heels on the floor and push your buttocks toward the ceiling. Repeat two times. This should not be performed beyond the first trimester.

Exercises for the lower back and legs:

  • Butterfly. Bring the soles of your feet together and allow your knees to relax out to the sides. Gently bring your knees up and down. Then with your knees down, slowly come forward and attempt to touch your feet with your head. Slowly come back up and breathe. Repeat three times.
  • Bridge. Lay on your back with your knees bent and your hands on the floor at your sides. Slowly raise your pelvis and lift your buttocks and lower part of your back off the floor. Hold for ten seconds. Then slowly come back down, bringing your buttocks down last. Repeat three times.
  • Alternate leg stretch. In a seated position, spread your legs apart. Bring one foot to the inside of the opposite thigh. Face the outstretched leg and slowly bring your head to your knee and stretch your arms forward. Do not strain or bounce. Slowly come up and repeat on the other side. Do this twice.
  • Squat. Squat down with feet flat on the floor, palms together in front of the chest and elbows pressing against the knees. Hold for 20 seconds while breathing normally. Then sit back on your buttocks and relax your legs. Repeat once. Work up to holding the squat for one minute.

Abdominal Exercises:

  • Sit-ups. In a seated position, have your knees bent with your arms extended over your knees. Slowly roll back one vertebra at a time until the shoulders recline. Then sit up. Repeat three times and work up to repeat ten times.
  • Alternate Leg Raise. Lay down and put your hands beneath your low back. Without straining, bring your leg up toward your head and hold for 20 seconds with normal breathing. Then lower your leg slowly while exhaling. Repeat with the opposite leg. If you have lower back discomfort or pain, bend the opposite leg with your foot on the floor. Repeat three times on each side.
  • Pelvic Floor Exercises
 The pelvic floor supports the bladder, uterus, and rectum. These supporting muscles can be strained during pregnancy and child birth. Kegel exercises work these muscles and can be done at any time. Practice stopping your urine flow midstream during each urination. Once you have mastered the urine stoppage midstream, you will know how to contract the muscles anytime not just during urination.

Reference: Pediatric Chiropractic. Anrig, Plaugher. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 1998
ISBN 10: 0683001361 / ISBN 13: 9780683001365.

Chinese Medicine tips for Holiday season

17 Dec 2014 Your Overall Health , ,

The holiday season that starts from Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and ends with the New Year.

A common holiday feast condition is indigestion – full and burning sensation, upper abdominal pain, bloating or nausea.

In Chinese medicine, indigestion is known as food stagnation. Symptoms include a lack of appetite and a bloating feeling in the stomach. The treatment principle for food stagnation is to open and move qi in the stomach so our digestive and elimination function can work optimally. Bao He Wan is a great herb formula for this.

The main function of Bao He Wan is to harmonize the stomach and reduce food stagnation. Here are the herbs in the formula:
Hawthorn Fruit
Massa Fermentata
Radish Seeds
Tangerine Peel
Pinellia Rhizome
Hoelen
Forsythia Fruit

Hawthorn fruit is excellent for reducing stagnation from meat and fatty food. Radish seed is good to bring qi downward. Orange/Tangerine Peel is great to clear stagnation and regulate qi. Hoelen is best known to reduce dampness and tonify the spleen channel. Forsythia fruit can reduce heat from food stagnation.

You’ve probably heard this before – the average weight gain during the holiday season is one pound. That is one pound that stays and accumulates year after year. While Bao He Wan works for indigestion, it won’t help to lose the weight gained over time. Balancing our diet, managing stress and exercise are still the sure way to maintain our health.

Coffee Body Scrub

17 Dec 2014 Recipes & Home Remedies

2 Cups coarsely ground coffee

½ cup raw sugar or sea salt

2-3 tablespoons massage oil (we like a local blend called Cramp ease)

Mix all ingredients together. Take a hot shower or bath to open pores. Using Wide Circular motions, rub the coffee exfoliant onto your skin with strong even pressure. Shower off and pat skin dry and apply a thin layer of your favorite lotion or follow with olive or coconut oil.

Recipes courtesy of www.safecosmetics.org/

Massage During Pregnancy and Beyond

17 Dec 2014 Women & Pregnancy , ,

Adding to the Peace of the World
Did you know that anthropological studies show that the majority of the world’s most peaceful cultures, use touch prominently during pregnancy and early childhood?

Bodywork, including therapeutic massage, can have a tremendously soothing effect – physically, mentally and emotionally. In pregnancy, this is true for mothers and their babies.

Alleviating Concerns
Each trimester brings its own set of thrills and challenges.  While some women are concerned about the contraindications of massage during pregnancy, barring any health concerns expressed by their doctor, or midwife, massage can be very beneficial during each stage of the process.  Certified therapists are aware of the appropriate precautions to take, and can be valuable partners to aid in providing comfort and support.

Indications That You May Need a Massage

1. Are you dealing with increased stress?
2. Do you having trouble sleeping?
3. Are you having some fluid retention?
4. Are you experiencing pain in your lower back and hips?
5. Do you have increased pain in your shoulders and neck?

Some Benefits of Pre-Natal & Post-Partum Massage

• Counters the negative effects of stress
• Provides increased oxytocin production and feelings of well-being
• Increases immunological functioning
• Can reduce maternal blood pressure, heart and respiratory rates
• Can reduce labor time and discomfort
• Increases uterine blood supply to enhance fetal health
• Feels good!
If you are experiencing any of the above-noted indications, and are looking for some of the benefits, give us a call!  We hope to see you soon!

5 Tips to Stop the panic of the holidays

17 Dec 2014 Tips & Tricks, Your Overall Health , ,

When the holidays are here we have too many parties and social errands to run, we can get overwhelmed. Anxiety or panic attacks can happen to all of us and will generally feel like your heart is racing, you can’t catch your breath, dizziness or lightheadedness, sometimes narrowing vision and sudden fatigue. If you know one is coming or you are only experiencing one or two of the symptoms, we suggest the following tips for both stopping an attack and preventing one.

  1. Stop and slow your breathing, focusing on the exhalation of breath more than the inhalation. This can be done easier when sitting up very straight(but can be done standing in a check out line if necessary)
  2. Change your own current atmosphere: examples – leave a store, drink a cold glass of water, focus on a joke or on something unique and odd to you. All of these examples are changing your mental atmosphere even if you can’t change your current environment.
  3. Don’t avoid trigger situations entirely; simply lessen the time of exposure so that you don’t create a greater fear response in the future to certain settings.
  4. Keep a journal and figure out what is triggering your anxiety. Writing during an attack has actually been shown to be calming and you can write on anything you choose.
  5. Suck on a peppermint. The act of sucking on something like a mint or candy is a soothing response in humans and does release good hormones. In this busy season, carry your favorite mint to keep the stress down.

Gluten Free Chocolate Ginger Cookie

20 Nov 2014 Recipes & Home Remedies

Ingredients (makes 2 dozen)

– 1/2 – 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or 1/4″ chocolate chunks

– 1 1/2 cups brown rice flour

– 1/2 cup potato flour

– 1/4 cup tapioca flour

– 1/8 tsp xanthan gum

– 1 1/4 tsp ground ginger

– 1 tsp ground cinnamon

– 1/4 tsp ground cloves

– 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

– 1 Tbsp cocoa powder

– 8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter or Earth Balance

– 1 Tbsp freshly grated ginger

– 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed

– 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses

– 1 tsp baking soda

– 1/4 cup granulated sugar

 

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent overcooking the cookie bottoms.  Heat oven to 325 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix together flours, xanthan gum, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and cocoa powder.

With an electric mixer in a separate bowl; beat together butter and grated ginger until whitened, about 4 minutes.  Add brown sugar; beat until combined.  Add molasses; beat until combined.

In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water.  Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture.  Beat in baking soda mixture, then add the remaining half of flour mixture.  Mix in chocolate.  Turn dough out onto a large piece of waxed paper.  Pat or roll dough out to about 1 inch thick; wrap dough with waxed paper.  Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

Pour granulated sugar into bowl.  Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, dip in granulated sugar.  Place balls on parchment lined baking sheets, sugared side up.  Bake until the top surface cracks slightly, about 10-12 minutes.  Let cool 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Jade Windscreen tincture for your immunity boost!

20 Nov 2014 Your Overall Health ,

Catch colds, allergic rhinitis or flu easily?

There is a famous Chinese formula called Jade Windscreen (Yu Ping Feng San) which can enhance the natural line of defense to ward off sickness. In this formula which consists of: Astragalus, White Atractylodes, Ledebouriella, we often ask patients to take the tincture who have recurrent colds. Although it is effective in treating this problem, it does take one month before any effect is demonstrated. When taking Jade Screen regularly, less severe colds occur.

In Chinese classical formula texts, Jade Windscreen can protect against invasion by exterior pathogens by strengthening your defense qi. It is commonly used to treat spontaneous sweating and increased susceptibility to invasion of exterior pathogens due to a deficiency. This formula uses a large dose of Radix Astragali (Huang Qi) to strengthen the body’s defense mechanism. There is also research which shows modified Jade Windscreen can be used for end-stage cancer patients who frequently suffer from idiopathic sweating and loss of appetite and the results are effective.

Overall, Jade Windscreen is a remarkable formula that can boost the immune system in various ways and it is recognized for its applications beyond prevention of colds and treatments on asthma and side effects of cancer treatments.

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Benefits of Probiotics

20 Nov 2014 Your Overall Health

When taking care of our gut, (which is our bodies gatekeeper) we have to look at the bacteria that live there and their specific job and functions.

The gut has about 100 trillion bacteria in the body.
10 bacteria to every 1 human body cell (kind of important huh?)
So how do we make sure that you take care of your gut flora even if you are already taking probiotics?

Take probiotics: Fermented foods like Kombocha, kimchi and raw sauerkraut as well as in pill form are best. Yogurt is not always the best as many people have trouble-processing dairy.

Avoid Fatty foods: Research done on mice showed that fatty foods can damage the lining of the gut as well as increase the population of some un-friendly bacteria.

Eat probiotics: These are non digestible carbohydrates that are found in onions, garlic, leeks, artichokes, asparagus and chicory root as well as some whole grains.

Control your stress: Stress has been shown to change your gut flora make up which leads to inflammation and a higher population of negative bacteria.

Control Candida/Bacteria: If your gut is out of balance you can take herbs, prescribed by a natural practitioner that will kill yeast and negative bacteria without damaging your healthy flora.

Common cause of leaky gut is ingesting foods that a person is allergic to- what comes first the leaky gut or allergies?

20 Nov 2014 Your Overall Health

What Causes Leaky Gut?

Some experts will state that the most common cause of leaky gut is ingesting foods that a person is allergic to. So what comes first the leaky gut or allergies? We just don’t know yet!

What is Leaky Gut?

This is a condition where partially digested foods, toxins or bacteria pass through the normally tight knit wall of the small intestine into the bloodstream. The body then scans the larger than normal particles of food, bacteria or toxin and creates an autoimmune response to what it deems as foreign matter.

What is the body’s reaction to a Leaky Gut?

The intestinal wall has a series of microvilli that have tiny hairs on them that sense the food and will absorb nutrients and move them through intracellular epithelial cells of the small intestine. That is the normal healthy route. When there is a leaky gut, there is disruption of the tight junctions between epithelial cells or transcellular entry through the epithelial cells themselves. The body then has a release of Lipopolysaccharides (damage of the epithelial membrane), actomyosin (epithelial cell damage tissue), Occludin/Zonulin (tight junctions between cells) each of these go through to the blood stream which looks at them with your immune system called the T-Cells. They are not supposed to be in the blood stream so the T-Cells send out anti-bodies against your own cellular tissue.

The antibodies cause your own body to respond with inflammation, allergic reactions and a whole host of unpleasant symptoms.

What are the symptoms of Leaky Gut?

The list is vast and we are now seeing even more correlations to immunological issues. Many of the conditions we deem as auto-immune may have a huge impact on how well our gut or intestines function. For example, some brain diseases like Alzheimer’s are found to have a high association with Leaky gut, in which one’s own body starts attacking the brain leading to degeneration. This can occur throughout the body systems.

  • Nutritional deficiencies
  • Allergies
  • Anxiety and Depression
  • Impaired Immune Function
  • Recurrent Candida infections
  • Impaired memory
  • Moodiness or irritability
  • Bloating or Flatulence
  • Fuzzy cognition and poor concentration/fatiguing easily while doing brain related tasks
  • Headaches
  • Fatigue
  • Skin rashes
  • Constipation or diarrhea

How do you determine if a person has a Leaky Gut Syndrome?

Testing is done to determine if a patient has leaky gut, by a blood serum test through a lab company that specializes in immunologic testing. The test is a basic screen for leaky gut and will test for the following:

  • Actomyosin IgA – Epithelial cell damage (intestinal wall cells)
  • Occludin/Zonulin IgG/IgA/IgM – Tight junction damage to the walls of the intestine
  • Lippopolysaccharides IgG/IgA/ IgM – Permeability and dysbiosis or bacteria leaking into the blood stream through the intestine wall

If further testing is needed to determine if certain foods like gluten or nuts are the immune reactors, then these can be tested as well to see if the brain is also being affected.

How do you Treat Leaky Gut?

Treatment depends on what the doctor determines is the main cause of the leaky gut. Here are all the possibilities and the most likely treatment actions.

  1. Micro-Flora – this will need to be replaced and boosted to enhance immunity and heal the gut. Lactobacilli are mostly in the upper small intestine and bifidobacteria live in the lower small and large intestine.
    Treatment will be a specific Probiotic that has a large number of organisms and is very diverse to see the whole intestinal tract.
  2. Detoxification – this will be a treatment to kill the unhealthy flora in the intestine and can be tested by a stool sample or just treat to make sure that you are cleaned out.
    The Treatment will be herbs that kill candida, bacteria and other negative microflora but will not kill beneficial microflora so that you have a restored balance to your gut.
  3. Enzymes – This will be something to make sure you are breaking down food completely so that while the gut is healing large particles are not being transported into the blood stream causing immune reactions.
    Treatment is Digestive Enzymes usually taken at meals to help break down foods and your doctor will help you select the correct one for your system.
  4. Gut Healing – This is also similar to amino acids that are especially made for the gut, so that healing will occur and won’t leak – causing autoimmune type reactions.
    Treatment is usually a Glutamine powder that may contain some other herbs to help you. Your doctor will help you select the correct type so that you can gain the most benefit.

Diet Changes – Your doctor will want the end goal to be using your food as medicine and this may mean doing an Elimination diet and then slowly re-introducing foods. The purpose is so you can see what causes a reaction in your body and what doesn’t. If you are unable to do this with diet, your doctor may order a comprehensive food allergy panel that tests 190 foods to determine what causes you to have an immune reaction.

This is a basic treatment outline and there are many variations based on history and test results. Make sure your doctor is qualified and ready to handle your specific case, and you can help this process by giving a detailed intake form and history when you meet with your doctor.

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